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At AIG, Exclusive 'Club' Gave
Greenberg Powerful Influence

Through Starr Corporations,
Highly Regarded Employees
Get Rewarded for Loyalty

By

Ianthe Jeanne Dugan and

George AndersStaff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Updated April 11, 2005 12:01 a.m. ET

NEW YORK -- In an annual ritual, an elite group of executives and retirees of insurance behemoth American International Group Inc. files into a giant boardroom here, some traveling from as far away as Japan or Europe. They each pick up an envelope with their name on the front and a single sheet of paper inside.

It's a two-line entry: how many preferred shares the recipient got that year in a private partnership called C.V. Starr & Co. that invests money for favored AIG executives -- and how much their previous stake's value...